VENUE #32 LIVINGSTON Almondvale

IRN-BRU DIVISION ONE              


Livingston... 1  Cowdenbeath... 1

Saturday 6th October 2012

@ Almondvale / Braidwood Motor                             Company Stadium
                 Kick Off  15:00

     This is the game I've been waiting for a 600 mile round trip to Almondvale Stadium, also known as the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium in Livingston, Edinburgh.  It's another sunny day but not the warmest as you would expect in the month of October.
     Livingston manager John Hughes makes no changes to the team that thumped Dumbarton 5-0 here last Saturday while Cowdenbeath boss Colin Cameron makes one alteration to his squad that drew 1-1 with Falkirk at Central Park last weekend bringing in Greg Stewart for Lewis Milne up front.
     The game started very tactically with both defences cancelling out any attacking play and this was the theme for the majority of the first half.  A chance for Anthony Andreu of Livingston and a header from Marc McKenzie of Cowdenbeath were the only main talking points of the first half worth mentioning.
     It got a bit livelier in the second half, (thank God), with Livi laying siege on the Blue Brazil goal but it seemed as though Cowden had a charmed life and were going to come through this onslaught until the 55th minute when their captain John Armstrong saw a straight red card for a two footed challenge on Andreu.  John Hughes then made a tactical substitution bringing on Ruben Garcia-Rey for Greg Stewart in a attempt to fill the hole left by Armstrong's departure but Livi made the extra man count and their domination of the game got more intense and finally got their just reward in the 71st minute when Iain Russell's effort was blocked and fell to Keaghan Jacobs to fire a cracker from about 25 yards which deflected past Thomas Flynn in the Cowdenbeath goal.

Anthony Andreu home MOTM

     You would have thought that Livingston would of capitalised on the situation being a goal and a man up but in the last ten minutes of the game it was Cowdenbeath who looked the most likely very rarely allowing the home side to venture out of their own half.  I think that Hughes taking off Mckenzie for Lewis Milne in the 79th minute had a lot to do with this. Lewis Coult was playing a lone roll up front up at this point and seemed displeased, constantly shaking his head and making hand gestures in a moaning manner at what he'd been asked to do.  I mentioned to my Son who had made the trip with me that Coult looked lost and cumbersome to which he remarked "A bit like a beast of burden", (Whoops).
     The change had put a spring in the step of Cowden who started to look like more of a football team as they came forward at Livi and it was the blue's number eleven Jamie Stephenson who brought out the best of the home side's keeper Andy McNeill with a twenty yard shot that was well saved by the Livi number one.  Stephenson then had a free kick just outside the Livi 18 yard box palmed wide for a corner by McNeill, but it was third time unlucky for the Livingston keeper in the 90th minute who managed to tip another rocket of a free kick from Stephenson onto the bar but the ball rebounded straight to Lewis Milne who had the easy task of heading into an empty net.  And so it ended a point apiece, one gained for Cowdenbeath and two squandered by Livingston.

     Almondvale is a very modern looking ground built in 1995 to re-house Meadowbank Thistle who used to play their games at a Stadium with the same name in Edinburgh City.  Meadowbank fans wanted to keep their name but the people of Livingston saw this as an opportunity of putting their town on the map.

Livingston Turnstiles

     We arrived at the ground about a hour before kick off and so had a couple of pints in the bar before making our way into the ground.  We had a rucksack with us containing food and drink which was searched by a lady steward as we approached the turnstiles.  She confiscated a bottle of coke because it had been opened and she said that, "It could have contained anything" as a result which is fair enough I suppose.  There was only one stand in operation for this game, the West stand, as it was easier to keep the ground clean and tidy and could keep costs down by not using so many stewards.  We were directed to a dual turnstile and told to go to the left side and as I handed over the money I was asked, "Is this a concession", to which I replied, "No", and was told to go next door.  This was a bit annoying as I  WAS TOLD to go to this gate and there were no markings to say that one gate was concession and the other full payment.
     We sat in the half nearer the North stand, the view was good and as comfortable as you're going to get from plastic seats and there was plenty of leg room which was a bonus.    

                                                                     Match Details